Drywall Patch Kit

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed to a drywall repair system designed to repair damage, such as holes from nails or picture hooks remaining in a wall once a picture has been removed. The system contains a handle, at least one drywall reamer configured to couple with the handle, and at least one drywall plug sized to fit within a hole created by the reamer bit. The drywall repair system provides a quick and easy system for repairing walls without the requirement of air curing and use of spackle.

PRIORITY CLAIM

In accordance with 37 C.F.R. 1.76, a claim of priority is included in anApplication Data Sheet filed concurrently herewith. Accordingly, thepresent invention claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 61/800,250, entitled “DRYWALL PATCH KIT”, filed Mar. 15, 2013. Thecontents of which the above referenced application is incorporatedherein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention is related to the field of home and business improvement,and more particularly to a device and kit for use in repairing wallsthat were decorated with hanging objects.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Most homes and businesses have walls adorned with clocks, pictures,paintings, diplomas, advertisements, or the like objects that aresecured to a wall. To ensure that the objects remain on the wall, mostobjects are anchored to the wall using nails, screws, plastic expansionmollys, threaded drywall anchors, drywall toggles, molly bolts, or thelike anchoring devices. One of the problems encountered with the use ofan anchoring device is that they damage the wall and the wall will needto be repaired once the objects are removed or not replaced.

For instance, a child's room may be filled with baby pictures which arequickly outgrown. Unless a removed picture is replaced with anotherpicture, the wall is left with an unsightly anchor. If the anchor isremoved, the wall is left with an unsightly hole. Another example is anoffice where an employee may cover their personal office walls withcalendars, diplomas, photographs, and so forth. Should the employeechange their office, the employer is tasked with repairing the wallsbefore a new employee takes over the office space.

Whether a homeowner or a business owner, when a hanging object isremoved from the wall, the typical remedy is to apply a filler material,such as spackle, to the hole. Once the filler material has dried, thefiller is sanded and typically a second application is required due toshrinkage to ensure the material can be sanded flush to match thedrywall surface. Once dry the user can then re-paint the repaired areato match the original coloring of the wall. While this is effective, itis time consuming (need to wait for air curing) and can be costlydepending on the amount and size of the holes. Further, spackle or thelike prepared filler will dry out if not properly sealed. Even ifsealed, once the container is open and exposed to air it has a limitedshelf life.

Therefore, what is needed is a system and device for repairing holes ordefects in drywall quickly and has an infinite shelf life.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a drywall repair system. Thedrywall repair system is designed to repair damage, such as holes fromanchoring devices that previously secured objects to the wall. Thesystem 10 consists of a handle 12, a drywall reamer 14 securable to thehandle, and at least one drywall plug sized to fit within a hole createdby the reamer bit. The drywall repair system provides a quick and easysystem for repairing walls without the requirement of air curing and useof spackle. In the preferred embodiment different sized reamers can beattached to the handle, the sized reamers may be used for different sizeholes to be patched.

Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide adevice and method for quickly repairing holes or defects in drywall.

It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a deviceand method for repairing holes or defects in drywall which eliminatesthe need for application of a liquefied patch and curing.

It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a deviceand method for repairing holes or defects in drywall which eliminatedcuring time and the need for sanding.

Still another objective of the invention is to provide a patch that fitswithin an exact dimension created by a reamed hole.

Other objectives and advantages of this invention will become apparentfrom the following description taken in conjunction with anyaccompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration andexample, certain embodiments of this invention. Any drawings containedherein constitute a part of this specification and include exemplaryembodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects andfeatures thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a reamer handle and reamer bit of theinstant invention;

FIG. 2 is FIG. 1 with a cutaway to illustrate a storage receptacle;

FIG. 3 is FIG. 1 with the reamer bit separated from the reamer handle;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a reamer bit;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a drywall plug;

FIG. 6 is a pictorial view of the reamer bit forming a sized hole indrywall;

FIG. 7 is a pictorial view of the sized hole in drywall formed by thereamer bit;

FIG. 8 is a pictorial view of a drywall plug upon insertion into thesized hole;

FIG. 9 is a pictorial view of drywall patched; and

FIG. 10 is a kit containing one or more components of the system forrepairing drywall.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in variousforms, there is shown in the drawings and will hereinafter be describeda presently preferred, albeit not limiting, embodiment with theunderstanding that the present disclosure is to be considered anexemplification of the present invention and is not intended to limitthe invention to the specific embodiments illustrated.

Referring in general to FIGS. 1-5, an illustrative example of thecomponents of a drywall repair system, referred to generally as 10, isshown. The drywall repair system 10 is designed to repair damage, suchas holes from nails or picture hooks remaining in a wall once thepicture has been removed. The system 10 contains a handle 12, at leastone reamer bit 14 constructed and arranged to cooperate with the handle12, and at least one plug 16 for insertion into a sized hole formed bythe reamer bit 14. The handle 12 contains a first end 18, a second end20, and a main body 22. The main body 22 is preferably ergonomicallydesigned to provide maximum comfort when gripped by a user's hand. Asshown, the main body 22 has a generally cylindrical shape. Such shape,however, is not intended to be limiting, as the handle 12 can assumevarious configurations. The first end 18 may be closed. Alternatively,the first end 18 may include a removable cap 24 which once removedexposes a hollowed compartment 15 sized and shaped to hold at least onereamer bit 14. It should be noted that the handle 12 may also beenlarged wherein the compartment 15 may be sized and shaped to hold oneor more drywall plug 16 in addition to the reamer bits, or in place ofthe reamer bits. Further, the removable cap 24 can be made of a materialthat allows taping of a drywall plug, as will be explain in more detaillater in this specification, to properly lodge the drywall plug into asized drywall hole. Preferably the removable cap is of a non-marringmaterial to allow taping without damage to the drywall plug of thedrywall around the drywall sized hole. The second end 20 is configuredto be coupleable with the reamer bits 14. As such, the second end 20 maycontain a configuration, illustrated herein as a tri-lobe pocket 26 forreceiving a portion of the reamer bit 14.

Referring to FIG. 4, an illustrative example of a reamer bit 14 isillustrated. The reamer bit 14 contains a first end 28, a second end 30,and reamer bit body 32. A first end 28 portion of the reamer bit body 32contains three sides to form a triangular configuration. This tri-lobeconfiguration is designed to allow the first end 28 to fit into andcouple with the tri-lobe drive pocket 26 of the handle 12. At theopposite end of the tri-lobe configuration, the reamer bit 14 contains aplurality or set of cutting edges such as reaming flutes 34. The flutesmay be sized and shaped (straight, helical, angled) in a variable mannerto create variably sized and shaped holes. Located at the distal end(second end 30) is a pointed tip 36. The reamer bit body 32 includes adepth stop 38.

Referring to FIG. 5, an illustrative example of a dry wall plug 16 isshown. The dry wall plug 16 contains a first end 40, a second end 42,and a drywall plug main body 44. The drywall plug main body 44preferably contains a tapered surface and is sized to fit into a holecreated by a reamer bit so that the surface 46 sits flush with the drywall. The surface 46 may contain a finished or unfinished surface. Whilethe drywall plug 16 can be made of any material, preferably the drywallplug 16, or at least the surface 46 is made of a material that can bepainted. Alternatively, the drywall plug could be made of a pre-coloredmaterial so that the user would have to match the color of the plug tothe wall. The drywall plug 16 is preferably constructed from anelastomeric material that will not shrink or degrade over time. However,the drywall plug 16 is also made of the same drywall material having acoating to prevent crumbling of the plug during storage or installation.

Referring to FIGS. 6-9, a user would select the appropriate reamer bit14 relative to the wall defect, and attached it to the handle 12.Various reamer bit sizes can be used to minimize the plug size. Forinstance, the repairing of a nail hole may use a small reamer while therepairing of a molly toggle bolt would require a larger sized hole toeffectuate the repair. Once an anchor is removed from the illustrateddrywall 100, the user applies a rotational force to the reamer handle 12causing the reamer bit 14 as illustrated in FIG. 6 to form a taperedhole which has a size corresponding to drywall plug 16 as shown in FIG.7. The taper on the reamer bit 14 matches the taper on the drywall plug16 and provides a press or locking fit upon insertion as illustrated inFIG. 8. Once inserted, the drywall plug 16 can be immediately finishedto a smooth surface and painted as illustrated in FIG. 9.

Referring to FIG. 10, the components of the drywall repair system can bepackaged in a kit 48. In an illustrative embodiment, the kit 48 includesa housing unit 50 having one or more handles 12, a plurality ofdifferent types of reamer bits 14A-14B, each having a different flutestyle or size, and a plurality of drywall plugs 16A-16L, where plugs16A-16C could be small sized, unpainted plugs, plugs 16D-16F could besmall sized, painted plugs, plugs 16G-16I could be medium sized plugs,and plugs 165J-16L could be large sized plugs.

The method of patching the drywall using the instant invention wouldtake the steps of: attaching a reamer bit to a handle; inserting saidreamer bit into a used anchor hole; rotating said handle to form auniform hole from said reamer bit; removing said reamer bit from saiduniform hole; inserting a tapered drywall plug into said uniform hole;taping said drywall plug until an outer end surface of said drywall plugis flush with the drywall, and painting said drywall plug.

It is to be understood that while a certain form of the invention isillustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangementherein described and shown. It will be apparent to those skilled in theart that various changes may be made without departing from the scope ofthe invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to whatis shown and described in the specification and any drawings/figuresincluded herein.

One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the presentinvention is well adapted to carry out the objectives and obtain theends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. Theembodiments, methods, procedures and techniques described herein arepresently representative of the preferred embodiments, are intended tobe exemplary and are not intended as limitations on the scope. Changestherein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art which areencompassed within the spirit of the invention and are defined by thescope of the appended claims. Although the invention has been describedin connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should beunderstood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited tosuch specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of thedescribed modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious tothose skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A drywall patch kit comprising: a handle formedfrom a main body having a first end and a second end; at least onereamer bit releasably securable to the second end of said handle, saidreamer bit constructed and arranged to form a sized hole in drywall; andat least one drywall plug having a tapered body dimensioned forfrictional engagement in the sized hole and a flat surface to bepositioned flush with a drywall surface.
 2. The drywall patch kitaccording to claim 1 wherein said main body has a generally cylindricalshape.
 3. The drywall patch kit according to claim 1 wherein said mainbody includes a compartment accessed by a removable cap releasablysecurable to the first end, said compartment sized and shaped to hold atleast one reamer bit therein.
 4. The drywall patch kit according toclaim 1 wherein said second end of said main body includes a tri-lobepocket for receiving a reciprocal end of said reamer bit.
 5. The drywallpatch kit according to claim 1 wherein each said reamer bit has aplurality of reaming flutes forming a cutting edge extending from apointed tip to a depth stop, said reaming flutes arranged to cut a holein drywall of a predetermined size upon rotation of said reamer bit. 6.The drywall patch kit according to claim 5 wherein said flutes arestraight.
 7. The drywall patch kit according to claim 5 wherein saidflutes are angled.
 8. The drywall patch kit according to claim 1 whereinsaid drywall plug is constructed from an unfinished paintable material.9. The drywall patch kit according to claim 1 wherein said flat surfaceon said drywall plug is finished with a colored surface.
 10. The drywallpatch kit according to claim 1 wherein first end of said handle includesa surface that can be used for taping a drywall plug into the sizedhole.
 11. The drywall patch kit according to claim 3 wherein saidcompartment is sized to hold a plurality of reamer bits.
 12. The drywallpatch kit according to claim 3 wherein said compartment is sized to holda plurality of drywall plugs.
 13. A method of patching drywallcomprising the steps of: attaching a reamer bit to a handle; insertingsaid reamer bit into a used anchor hole; rotating said handle to form auniform hole from said reamer bit; removing said reamer bit from saiduniform hole; inserted a tapered drywall plug into said uniform hole;taping said drywall plug until an outer end surface of said drywall plugis flush with the drywall.
 14. The method of patching drywall accordingto claim
 13. including the step of painting said drywall plug.